Foldable barricade and sign



May 28, 1957. R. H. BIXBY 9 FOLDABLE BARRICADE AND, S-IGN Filed Jan. 424 1956 62 I I I Q 64 INVENTOR. e/c/me a/xm ATZOBA/E Y5 Kai United States Patent i FOLDABLE BARRICADE AND SIGN Richard H. Bixby, Garfield, Kans.

Application January 24, 1956, Serial No. 560,944

2 Claims. (Cl. 40125) setforth is to provide'a foldable sign and barricade of I the character set forth which is readily and economically manufactured, easily used and maintained, conveniently portable and highly efficient and practical for the purpose intended.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout and in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the novel foldable sign and barricade;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of Figure 1 looking in the direction indicated by line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is,a side elevational view of the novel foldable sign and barricade with the leg assemblies and foldable sign member disposed in substantially longitudinal alignment with the support bar thereof; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Referring to the drawing, the novel foldable sign and barricade is indicated generally at 10 and includes a pair of oppositely disposed leg assemblies 12 and 14 which have secured at their upper end portions a transverse support bar or member 16 which has depending intermediately therefrom a sign member 18.

The leg assemblies 12 and 14 each include converging leg members 20 and 22 which have secured on oppositely disposed intermediately positioned pivot elements 24 conventional strap or bar hinge members 26 which are of a conventional character and which permit the leg members to be retained in the position shown in Figure 2, and to be subsequently pivoted toward each other when the hinge 26 is broken at its center 28 move toward each other in the direction indicated by the direction arrows in Figure 2.

The transverse support member 16 includes a central body portion 30 which may have a lower notched out portion 32 extending therein for defining a handle portion of the assembly, and suitably secured at the opposite ends T 2,193,453 Patented May 28,1957

of the body portion 30 are leaf hinge assemblies 34, see Figure 3. The leaf hinge assemblies have one leaf 36 pivotally secured to a suitable transverse pivot pin element 38 extending through the body portion 30 permitting the leg assemblies 12 and 14 to be pivoted into the direction shown by the direction arrows in Figure 1, the other leaf 40 of the hinge assemblies 34 being suitably secured to an adjacent undersurface portion of the leg members and 22 by means of suitable fastening elements such as bolt assemblies 42. Upon breaking the hinge 26 at its central pivot position 28 the hinge assemblies 34 will permit the aforementioned pivotal movement of the le members 20 and 22 toward each other.

, In order to retain the foldable assembly in the position shown at Figure 1, second bar or strap hinge members 44 are pivotally secured on pivot elements 46 at one end to the body portion 30 of the barsupport member and have the opposite end pivotally secured on pivot elements 48 on one of the legs 20 or 22 of the leg assemblies. When the hinges 44 are broken at their central pivot portion 50 the leg assemblies 12 and 14 may be pivoted in the aforementioned direction shown by the direction arrows.

Depending from an intermediate lower surface portion of the body portion 30 of the support bar 16 area plurality of spaced clip elements 52 which detachably secure the foldable sign member 18 in a proper position thereon,

said sign member including a central body portion 54 of any suitable foldable material and may have applied thereon if desired lettering in a fluorescent or luminous paint 56 whereby the sign when unfolded into the position shown in Figure 1 will be readily visible when the lights of an oncoming vehicle are shined thereon. The sign member may have secured at its lower end portions 58 and 69 suitable connecting means such as the tie strings 62 and 64, respectively, which may be tied over an intermediate portion of the hinges 26.

When the sign is folded into the position shown in Figure 5 the sign member 18 may either be removed as shown in Figure 5, or inasmuch as it is made from any suitable flexible material it may be folded with the leg members and left intact or secured thereon.

The barricade per se is made of any suitable material, for example, aluminum, tubular steel, etc., and thus is readily portable and may be readily moved by a single laborer, for example, the foldable feature permitting ready storage as "well as mobility, and the expenditure of time in order to erect the barricade and sign is appreciably reduced.

Thus there has been disclosed a foldable sign and barricade which fully conforms with the objects of invention heretofore set forth.

Various positional directional terms such as upper, side, etc., are utilized herein and have only a relative connotation to aid in describing the device and it is not intended to require any particular orientation with respect to any external elements.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A foldable assembly comprising a pair of oppositely disposed foldable leg assemblies, a support bar extending transversely between upper end portions of the leg assemblies, means securing the upper end portions of the leg assemblies to a transverse pivot axis portion permitting the bar and leg assemblies to be folded into substantial longitudinal alignment, retaining means extending between'the bar and leg assemblies for retaining the assembly in an erect position, and a foldable sign member depending intermediatelyfrom the bar and foldable with the leg assemblies, said leg assemblies including a pair of leg members diverging at upper inner surface portions from the support bar, hinge means connected between upper inner surface end portions of the leg members and opposite sides adjacent upper end portions of the bar member permitting the leg members to be pivoted toward and away from each other and about the longitudinal axis of the support bar, the retaining means including first foldable bar hinge members extending transversely between opposed. intermediate portions of the leg members, the hinge means comprising leaf hinges including one leaf fixedly secured to the upper inner surface portion of the diverging leg members, a transverse pivot pin extending transversely through the support bar pivotally supporting the other leaf of the hinges permitting the leg assemblies to assume the aforementioned longitudinal disposition relative to the support bar.

2. A foldable assembly comprising a pair of oppositely disposed foldable leg assemblies, a support bar extending transversely between upper end portions of the leg assemblies, means securing the upper end portions of the leg assemblies to a transverse pivot axis portion permitting the bar and leg assemblies to be folded into substantial longitudinal alignment, retaining means extending between the bar and leg assemblies for retaining the assembly in an erect position, and a foldable sign member de- 4 pending intermediately from the bar and foldable with the leg assemblies, said leg assemblies including a pair of leg members diverging at upper inner surface portions from the support bar, hinge means connected between upper inner surface end portions of the leg members and opposite sides adjacent upper end portions of the bar member permitting the leg members to be pivoted toward and away from each other and about the longitudinal axis of the support bar, the retaining means including first foldable bar hinge members extending transversely between opposed intermediate portions of the leg members, the hinge means comprising leaf hinges including one leaf fixedly secured to the upper inner surface portion of the diverging leg members, a transverse pivot pin extending transversely through the support bar pivotally supporting the other leaf of the hinges permitting the leg assemblies to assume the aforementioned longitudinal disposition relative to the support bar, the retaining means including second foldable bar hinge members extending between an intermediate inner surface portion of the leg members and an intermediate outer surface portion of the support bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,823,871 Beasley Sept. 22, 1931 2,480,702 Bradford Aug. 30, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 818,475 France June 21, 1937 

